I worked with the UN Task Force. I thought this summary would be helpful to you in understanding Tunis. Discussion on the proposed Global Alliance for ICT and Development (17 November 2005, Tunis) Informal summary Mr. José Antonio Ocampo, Chairman of the United Nations ICT Task Force and United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, opened the discussion on the proposed Global Alliance for ICT and Development. He noted that the follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) should be an integral part of the implementation of the United Nations Development Agenda, and that the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society recognizes the multi-stakeholder approach to the WSIS follow up as essential. The Summit outcomes have endorsed the approach that the proposed Global Alliance would embody a multi-stakeholder complement to the intergovernmental follow-up and review processes that will take place under the Economic and Social Council's oversight. Mr. Ocampo referred to the paper on “principles” of the Alliance prepared as a result of a prolonged, wide and open consultation process, and suggested soliciting a final round of input from interested parties with a view to presenting the proposal to the Secretary-General by mid-December for his consideration and action. This proposal would address, among others, the three areas that were at the center of the meeting’s attention: 1) the organizational elements of the Global Alliance to ensure its effectiveness, visibility, efficiency, sustainability and impact; 2) participation in the Alliance, in particular how to balance the principle of inclusiveness with the need to ensure relevance and coherence of interests and purposes; and 3) development of an adequate and sustainable resource foundation for the Alliance. Mr. Sarbuland Khan, Executive Coordinator of the ICT Task Force and Director of the United Nations Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, recounted the extensive consultation process and presented the highlights of the “ Principles and Elements” document that has been the basis for discussion. He emphasized that the proposed Alliance would be complementary but not duplicative to the future Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that had been mandated by the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society. These two streams would be broad processes both under the authority of the Secretary-General. He expressed his pleasure with the positive feedback on the Global Alliance concept that has so far been received from many stakeholders. The floor was opened for comments. Amb. Daniel Stauffacher (Switzerland) observed that the WSIS outcome documents provide clarity on the follow-up process and contain a mandate for multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the proposed Global Alliance. He hoped that the Secretary-General would launch the process in the near future. Amb. Janis Karklins, President of the WSIS PrepCom, explained that during the PrepCom process he had proposed a role for multi-stakeholder entities in two areas – implementation and policy debate – and he foresaw the Global Alliance as the mechanism for the latter. Ms. Lyndall Shope-Mafole (South Africa) saw the Alliance as filling the intellectual vacuum in ICT-for-development that will be left with the conclusion of the UN ICT Task Force by creating an open forum for discussion of specific topics with the aim of solving real problems and providing advice to the Secretary-General and the UN system. Mr. Souheil Marine of Alcatel supported this statement. Prof. Wolfgang Kleinwächter (University of Aarhus) said the awareness of the importance of ICT to economic and social development is still at a low level outside of the WSIS (this was seconded by Mr. Brendan Tuohy of Ireland) and that the work of the Alliance should be closely linked to the MDG process. Mr. Peter Hellmonds (Siemens) stated that the Global Alliance should be able to provide more than just policy advice, but also contribute directly to the follow-up of the WSIS process. Mr. Bertrand de La Chapelle (wsis-online) agreed that the Global Alliance could be a tool at the disposal of the UN Secretary-General for the follow-up and implementation of the WSIS but should also bring together the ICT and development communities in order to achieve the MDGs. Mr. Fred Tipson (Microsoft) stated that the WSIS, where the focus of attention was on Internet governance, was about power, but that the ICT4D agenda is about creation of wealth, economic growth and increased investment in development. He maintained that the Global Alliance should engage private sector organizations that are not afraid to say that they want to make money in the developing world, recognizing that their business helps others make money as well. Mr. Tuohy also urged the Alliance to actively engage the private sector. Several speakers (Ms. Renate Bloem, Mr. Juan Fernandez, Mr. Nick Moraitis) emphasized the need for complementarity and synergy between the Alliance and the future Internet Governance Forum. Dr. Bill Drake (Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility) emphasized that it is important to define the two entities clearly to ensure there is no confusion between them and their mandates in the minds of all actors. Mr. Nick Moraitis (TakingITGlobal) requested that a matrix of organizations, including the proposed Global Alliance and the IGF, operating in the ICT4D space be produced, and that the distinctions between them be highlighted. Mr. Hellmonds saw the Global Alliance as potentially more important than the IGF because its focus will be on development, rather than on specific political or technical issues. Mr. Karl-Georg Schon (Germany) and Amb. Masood Khan (Pakistan) both also felt that the proposed Alliance had a distinct and very important role, addressing broader ICT4D issues, not only Internet governance. Mr. Schon urged the Alliance to identify priority areas of work in which it can have the most impact. Mr. Guy Sebban (ICC) urged a “downstream approach” to determining the structure of the Alliance, first setting the overall strategy, then specific objectives, and only afterwards forming the organizational structure. Ms. Jeanette Hofmann (Berlin University) supported the identification of concrete outputs, adding that this might motivate participation. Mr. Bruno Lanvin (World Bank) suggested that the Alliance should set a few precise deliverables with deadlines for achievement, which was seconded by Mr. Tadao Takahashi (Information Society Institute, Brazil) and Mr. Tuohy. Amb. Stauffacher envisioned the entity working in a decentralized, networked fashion, relying on partners to take ownership of particular activities and initiatives. Mr. Takahashi agreed the Alliance should be non-operational, a valuable lesson learned in the evolution of the ICT Task Force and suggested that the entity work “from the top-down but think from the bottom-up.” Mr. Juan Fernandez (Cuba) saw the Alliance as an influential, non-operational group consisting of a relatively concentrated pool of representatives who could trigger actions among wider constituencies. Amb. Masood Khan of Pakistan presented two possible approaches to the make-up of the group: 1) convening a small nucleus of stakeholders on equal footing who are connected to larger constituencies, or 2) taking a “Town Hall” approach with much wider representation. Amb. Khan suggested that the objectives of the Alliance would influence which approach is most appropriate. Amb. Karklins proposed that the Global Alliance evaluate its performance regularly and set a sunset clause, perhaps 2015 to correspond with the MDG agenda. Mr. Takahashi also emphasized the importance of applying lessons learned from the Task Force and the G8 DOT Force when evaluating the structure and mandate of the proposed Alliance and of establishing guidelines for performance to ensure the effectiveness of the entity. Many participants (Amb. Stauffacher, Ms. Bloem, Dr. Drake, Prof. Gurstein, Amb. Länsipuro, Messrs. Moraitis, Schon and Tuohy) reiterated the need for continued outreach to involve a diverse group of interested parties, including representatives of developing countries, youth, the disabled, grassroots organizations and broadcasting unions, and for concomitant funding to make such participation possible. Prof. Derrick Cogburn (Syracuse University) emphasized the need to use ICT to facilitate wider participation (both synchronous and asynchronous) cost-effectively. Mr. Ocampo summarized the discussion and closed the meeting with the message that he felt optimistic that the Secretary-General would approve the proposal in the near future. There are files at the web site. http://www.unicttaskforce.org/perl/documents.pl?id=1582 This was from the Task Force Web Site Bonnie Bracey Sutton _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
